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Special Ks

Kelsey Sigl, Katrina Selsor the senior leaders for Mesa

Kelsey Sigl, left, and Katrina Selsor point to the RMAC Championship banner hanging in the rafters at Brownson Arena. Thanks to the efforts of the two seniors, the Mavs will add a 13 to the banner after winning this year’s crown.

QUICKREAD

CMU Seniors

Effo Baker

5-5 Guard, Dallas, Texas

Transferred from Rogers State (Okla.), redshirted 2010-11. Started 17 of 27 games in 2011-12, averaging 2.9 points, 1.4 assists per game. Has come off the bench all season, averaging 2.5 points, 1.08 assists per game. Scored a career-high 11 points last season against Regis, had 10 points this season at Chadron State

Bruna Deichmann

5-9 Guard, Baineario-Camboriu, Brazil

Transferred this season from Alaska-Anchorage, where she helped the Seawolves reach the NCAA Division II Elite Eight last season. Has played in every game this season, providing instant offense off the bench. Averaging 9.6 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. Scored season-high 15 points in back-to-back games against Mid-America Christian and Chadron State. Has scored in double figures in 13 games.

Katrina Selsor

6-1 Guard, Glenwood Springs

Has been in the starting lineup every game she’s played at CMU, missing one game her sophomore season with an injury. Transferred to Mesa after one year at Colorado State University-Pueblo, where she was the RMAC West Division freshman of the year and RMAC Shootout MVP. CMU coach Taylor Wagner calls her the most complete player he’s ever coached, able to dominate offensively and defensively from any position. Has scored 903 points at CMU, 1,277 in her career including her year in Pueblo, with 545 rebounds at Mesa and 789 in her four years in the RMAC. She’s currently ninth all-time in assists at CMU (248), 17th in scoring and 14th in rebounding. Scored a career-high 31 points this season against Black Hills State.

Kelsey Sigl

6-0 Forward, Bismarck, N.D.

Three-year starter after transferring from Bismarck State, where she was a second-team NJCAA All-American. Has missed four games with injuries. Selected third-team Academic All-American this season and was RMAC preseason player of the year. Her 1,309 points at CMU puts her seventh in career scoring, and she’s 22nd in career rebounding with 460. Was 10th in the nation in scoring at Bismarck (664 points, 21.9 per game), giving her 1,973 career points in college. Attempted 21 free throws in 2010 against New Mexico Highlands, tying a CMU single-game record. Shooting 57.8 percent from the field, which is No. 2 in a single season at CMU behind Jaime White’s 58.6 percent. Shooting 48.2 percent from 3-point line and 83.5 from free-throw line this season.

REGIONAL RANKINGS

One game can make a difference in the regional rankings, and the Colorado Mesa men found that out Wednesday.

The Mavericks (17-7) lost to Western State 93-82 last week to tumble from No. 6 in the South Central Region to out of the top 10. The top eight teams in the final poll March 10 qualify for the NCAA Division II national tournament. The RMAC Shootout champion receives an automatic bid, so if the Mavericks don’t get back into the rankings next week after the end of the regular season and the first round of the conference tournament, they’ll need to win the Shootout to extend their season.

Metro State remained No. 1 in the region, with Adams State No. 6 and Fort Lewis No. 7. The Mavs play Adams and Fort Lewis at Brownson Arena this weekend, which could help their regional standing if they can beat one or both.

The CMU women (21-1) are still No. 1 in the South Central Region. Metro State is No. 6, Fort Lewis No. 8 and CSU-Pueblo No. 9.

“Twenty-six and four,” Sigl quickly says when talking about the best women’s basketball team to take the floor at Colorado Mesa University, the 2001–02 RMAC championship squad.

“Me and Kelsey were doing our research on what was the best record that’s been here,” Selsor said. “Of course we want that. It’s our last year, and we want to be known for something. We will be, with our ‘13 up there.”

“Up there” is on the banner hanging from the rafters at Brownson Arena reserved for conference championships.

The Mavericks, on track to become the best team in CMU history at 23-1 (19-1 RMAC), play Adams State on Friday night and Fort Lewis on Saturday, which is Senior Night. Both women’s games tip off at 5:30 p.m. at Brownson Arena.

Sigl, Selsor, Effo Baker and Bruna Deichmann will be recognized after Saturday’s game along with the seniors from the men’s team: Jeff Hart, Colton Burgon and Chandler Burgon.

Selsor, who grew up in Glenwood Springs, remembers watching the 2002 team when she and her sister, Sharaya, and their family would regularly make the trip to watch their cousin, Brian Beecraft, play for the Mesa men.

Little did she know then that 11 years later, she’d be one of the best players to ever suit up for the Mavericks.

Shoot, four years ago, she was playing for RMAC rival Colorado State University-Pueblo, leading the ThunderWolves to the RMAC Shootout championship. She was the RMAC West Division freshman of the year and the RMAC Shootout MVP, but the next season she transferred closer to home.

At Mesa, she was reunited with her sister, who had transferred the year before from Metro State, and met Sigl, who had transferred from Bismarck State, to form the foundation of this team.

“I’ve said this from Day One, I don’t think the girls who ended up here ... I don’t think that was an accident by any means,” Sigl said. “I think there was a reason the girls who were here the first year, there’s a reason for all of our stories.

“How Katrina transferred, how I transferred, how Sharaya came here, and this year we get (Taylor) Rock, Bruna, Christen (Lopez) ... Effo (who transferred in two years ago). It’s a crazy little story from three years ago.”

Sigl will join Selsor on the list of the best players in Mesa history. With 1,309 points, she’s seventh on the all-time scoring list and is 22nd in rebounding with 460.

Selsor is 17th in career scoring with 903 points, ninth in carer assists with 248 and 14th in rebounding with 545.

As sophomores, they clicked right away.

“It’s not even just us three,” Katrina Selsor said of herself, Sigl and Sharaya Selsor. “I don’t know what it is. Coach (Roger) Walters always told us you couldn’t get 12 girls to get along. We’ve had our moments here and there, but this year there hasn’t been one of those moments.

“That’s why we’re so close. You can tell we get along on and off the court when we’re playing. You can tell we trust each other. That’s made us the team that we are now.”

The Mavs can challenge one another during practice or a game, tempers can flare during scrimmages, but 20 minutes later they’re laughing.

“These girls are my family,” Sigl said. “My sisters I’ve never had.”

Both credit Walters for laying the foundation and first-year coach Taylor Wagner for putting them in position to succeed.

“We had the weapons all along,” Selsor said. “I think we understood what it would take to get there. Coach Wagner’s never let us go a day without putting that message in the back of our head that we can have something special, and pushing us to our potential.”

They pushed each other during fall conditioning, using the championship banner as motivation.

“We wanted to make history this year,” Sigl said. “Obviously, win the RMAC championship. We knew what we had. I think Coach Wagner has done a great job getting us there and preparing us.